Alpes de Haute-Provence Here your desires take over! ALPES DE HAUTE PROVENCE 1 www.alpes-haute-provence.com THE FLAVOURS OF THE ALPES DE HAUTE PROVENCE NINE APPROVED FARM PRODUCTS The Alpes de Haute-Provence offer a varied territory which ranges from the Durance plain to the mountains of the Ubaye and the hills of the pays de Forcalquier to the plateaux and canyons of the Verdon. In the Pays de Giono, even if the land is often arid and the plateaux wind-swept, the land is generous for those who know how to discover its treasures. With their age-old know-how, the traditional farmers of the Alpes de Haute-Provence have extracted quality produce from this land of contrasts; produce which is legally recognized by official logos. 4 AOC Olive oil of Haute Provence Banon goat’s cheese Pierrevert wines Essential oil of fine lavender from Haute Provence 5 IGP/ Label Rouge Sisteron lamb Small spelt Haute Provence apples Lavender honey Aromatic herbs from Provence The Alpes de Haute-Provence offer a wide variety of products with their own style and made according to local tradition… "Just per la taste" ALPES DE HAUTE PROVENCE 2 www.alpes-haute-provence.com SISTERON LAMB (Label Rouge) Sisteron lamb, Haute-Provence lamb par excellence, is better known as César lamb which obtained its red label in September 1995. Lamb from these farms are fed naturally and healthily on ewe’s milk, forage from the farm and supplements made up mainly of grain, with neither fat nor animal flour. A natural and balanced food, along with a breeding method which respects the environment, and gives César farm lambs a pink tender and tasty meat, recognized for its high quality by an independent tasting jury. For more information Association César 04 92 72 56 81 EVENTS La fête de l’agneau Pascal in Digne-les-Bains (Easter lamb fair) Exhibition of farm animals, presentation of various breeds of sheep, a farmer’s market, regional agriculture stands, demonstrations of sheep-shearing and sheepdogs with a meal based on regional lamb. Contact: 04 92 32 02 06 Fête de la transhumance in Riez June (Transhumance Festival) Around 2000 sheep go through the village on their way up to Alpine pastures, accompanied by a local folk group. An opportunity to revive traditions and discover regional products. Contact: 04 92 77 99 09 THE RECIPE Parmentier d’Agneau Ingredients (for 6): 500g breast of lamb, 2 eggs, 300g breadcrumbs, 1 glass white wine, 1 glass olive oil, 30g butter, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 bouquet garni, 3 cloves garlic, 3 litres chicken stock, 2 cloves, coarse salt, pepper, 1 kg charlotte potatoes, 1 plant of basil Put the breast of lamb, the three litres of stock, the onion studded with cloves, the carrot cut lengthwise, the glass of white wine, the bouquet garni, the cloves of garlic and a handful of coarse salt into a sauté pan. Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes approx. The meat is cooked when the flesh comes away from the bone easily. Strain the lamb, remove the bone and put the meat in a cloth, and then in a press to obtain a 2 cm high plaque. Wash the potatoes carefully; cook them in their skins in the stock. When they are cooked, peel them, mash them with a fork and add the olive oil and coarse salt. When the meat is cold, cut out disks with the rim of a bowl or a small plate; two disks per person. Dip the disks in the beaten egg and then in the breadcrumbs, salt if necessary and fry quickly on both sides in the olive oil. Drain on kitchen paper. In an oven dish, arrange a disk followed by a spoonful of potato and then another disk. Warm 5 minutes in the oven and arrange on hot plates. ALPES DE HAUTE PROVENCE 3 www.alpes-haute-provence.com BANON CHEESE (AOC) Banon is a goat’s cheese from the region of Banon, a discreet medieval village below the plateau d’Albion between Lure and the Ventoux. A festive, luxury and high quality cheese, Banon is a soft-curd goat’s cheese made from raw milk and shaped with a ladle before being wrapped in brown chestnut leaves and tied with raphia. A ripening period of 5 to 10 days away from air and light gives this cheese its rich, smooth texture with its very specific aromas, born from the alchemy of soft curd fermentation and the migration of the tannins in the chestnut leaf towards the cheese. THE SMALLEST CHEESE AOC IN FRANCE IN TERMS OF PRODUCTION VOLUME This characterful cheese with its unique taste obtained, in July 2003, the Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée. This AOC is spread over 179 communes of which 111 are in the Alpes de Haute-Provence. Very strict specifications oblige the small farms (55 goats on average) to put their herds out to pasture at least 210 days a year. For more information: Syndicat interprofessionnel de Défense et de Promotion du Banon Route de la Durance 04100 Manosque Tel: 04 92 87 47 55 A FEW FIGURES • You need almost a litre of milk to make one 100 g cheese • 5 million chestnut leaves per year (the equivalent of 5 trailers) are used in the Banon cheese-dairy • Production: 50 tonnes per year. The most expensive cheese in the world!! A BIT OF HISTORY It is said that the emperor Antonine the Pious (68-161 A.D.) loved it so much that he died of an indigestion of Banon! Jules Vernes and Frédéric Mistral are said to have adored this well-tempered speciality. THE EVENT The Fête du Fromage in Banon May Under the trilogy of wine, bread and cheese, this event always welcomes large numbers of visitors. The competition for the best Banon gives the public the opportunity to voice its opinion on the quality of the products. Contact: 04 92 72 19 40 ALPES DE HAUTE PROVENCE 4 www.alpes-haute-provence.com DISCOVERY STAY « De collines en prairies, naissance du Banon » un itinéraire paysan à Limans (peasant itinerary in Limans) Brigitte and Joël Corbon welcome you to their farm la Pourcine on the commune of Limans (to the north-west of Forcalquier), for a walk along their path to discover the family farm. The itinerary takes you first to the pigsty. Next you will discover how small spelt is grown and in the goat house you will see the local breed of goats which produce the milk to make Banon cheese. Visit from 9.30 am to 12 every Tuesday in July and August Contact: 04 92 73 01 54 Producers Fromagerie de Banon Banon Tel : 04 92 73 25 03 Les Capitelles Valensole Tel : 04 92 74 95 89 Farms Roger GARCIN Beaujeu Tel : 04 92 34 93 24 GAEC des Costoliers Chateauneuf Miravail Tel : 04 92 36 12 17 Sabine FERRARI Curel Tel : 04 92 62 02 63 GAEC de Lautin-Fontienne Fontienne Tel : 04 92 73 13 40 Pierre ZAMMIT Fontienne Tel : 04 92 73 12 58 Sylvestre DEBAISIEUX Gréoux-Les-Bains Tel : 04 92 74 20 64 Joël et Brigitte CORBON Limans Tel : 04 92 73 01 54 GAEC des Provins Puimichel Tel : 04 92 78 73 41 Marie Hélène OUDIETTE Quinson Tel : 04 92 77 50 34 GAEC L'ALPINE DES COLLINES Revest des Brousses Tel : 06 21 39 53 54 Domaine de la Haute Lèbre Revest du Bion Tel : 04 92 73 31 67 GAEC La Musardière Saint Michel l’Observatoire Tel : 04 92 76 67 00 Vanessa MASTO Simiane-La-Rotonde Tel : 04 92 75 95 93 GAEC le Petit Jabron Sisteron Tél.: 04 92 62 89 89 Any GAUTHIER Valensole Tel : 04 92 73 17 14 EARL Saint If Valensole Tel : 04 92 74 99 13 THE RECIPE Courgettes farcies au Banon et à la menthe (Courgettes stuffed with Banon and mint) Ingredients (for 4): 2 Banon cheeses, 2 courgettes, 1 bunch fresh mint, 1 pink onion, 2 cloves garlic, 2 soupspoons olive oil, 2 soupspoons crushed walnut kernels, salt, pepper • Preheat the oven thermostat 6 (180°) • Wash the courgettes and cut them in half lengthwise. Using a teaspoon, remove the central part; put this flesh to one side • Sprinkle salt inside the half courgettes, turn them over on a plate and let them drain for 15 minutes. • Mash the flesh into a puree, add the finely chopped garlic and onion, salt and mix well. • Wipe the half courgettes, stuff them with this preparation, pour over a soupspoon of olive oil and put in the oven for 20 minutes. • When they are cooked, remove from oven and leave to cool. • Meanwhile, remove the chestnut leaves from the cheeses, cut the cheeses in pieces and put them in the mixer bowl. • Add about a dozen leaves of mint, the rest of the oil, salt a little and mix to obtain a creamy paste. • Spread each still-warm half courgette with the preparation, sprinkle with crushed walnut and pepper. • Decorate with mint leaves and serve. ALPES DE HAUTE PROVENCE 5 www.alpes-haute-provence.com COCKTAILS FROM FORCALQUIER WITH AROMATIC PLANTS During 12th and 13th centuries, peddlers settled in the villages as merchants, chemists or apothecaries. Towards the end of 19th century, some were to become distillers and specialized in the production of liqueurs and aperitifs The "Distilleries et Domaines de Provence" are the heirs to this unique local tradition: peddler-chemists. In Forcalquier, a village set between the Luberon and the montagne de Lure and considered as the land of scents, the "Distilleries et Domaines de Provence" cultivate with panache the taste of authenticity, using all the know-how necessary to elaborate cocktails and liqueurs with aromatic plants, and in particular the Pastis Henri Bardouin made from 50 spices and aromatic plants.